Liver transplantation: the past, the present and the legacy of Dr. Thomas Starzl

In the late spring of 2017, we were asked to be the guest editors of the AME Medical Journal’s special issue on liver transplantation. The timing of this invitation was, coincidental or not, poignant since it came only a few months after the passing of the legendary surgical pioneer of liver transplantation, Dr. Thomas E. Starzl who passed away in March of 2017 at the age of 90 years (1). Dr. Starzl had been appropriately called the “Father of Modern Transplantation” and if it were not for Dr. Starzl, the history of liver transplantation probably would have been very different.